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Office stereo amp: Emotiva XPA200 vs Parasound Halo A23

1K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  bgtighe23 
#1 ·
Looking for a smaller amp for an office 2 channel system. Debating between Emotiva XPA200 and Parasound Halo A23. The Emotiva is much cheaper. The larger Emotiva that cost the same as the Parasound are too physically large for the space.
 
#8 ·
Why do you at least want the XPA200? Just because they are Paradigm Studio 10s, doesn't mean they are difficult to drive or simply need more power.

If you would give some details about the room, your question could be more easily answered.

I do not agree with the recommendation of the Crown amp - that's a little but much and it's also a D-Class amp.
 
#6 ·
Thats tough given your speakers and application may not make sense to buy a better amp. I like Emotiva but am annoyed that as my questions got more detailed as I became more educated they simply quit answering my questions, I suspect because they didn't compare favorable with Parasound. That really didn't set well with me.

In your application I can't think of why at the Emotiva wouldn't be adequate, you're likely not playing very loud in the office anyway...
 
#7 ·
If you need that much power for an office system and are cost-sensitive just buy a Crown XLS2 amp as zgeneral suggested.

Note with 86 dB/W sensitivity a pair of Paradigms will deliver about 99.3 dB in a room sitting about ten feet away with 50 W/speaker. The XPA-200 will deliver about 104.3 dB, not a large increase for the extra money. How big an office?
 
#9 ·
When I had my system in an office, it was among a hundred other professionals. Even on s Sunday peak levels above 90 or 95 dB were likely to disturb others. I probably never used even 5 watts . . . and a 100 watt amp cannot deliver a different kind of 5 watts than a 20 watt amp. Cannot. Ohm's law doesn't allow for 5 or 10 mph over. Its not a suggestion. Like gravity it just happens.

And the speakers lack any sensory organ or psychic power to let them realize the amp could deliver a lot more power if needed. Nor can they respond differently to the non-different power at reasonable office levels.

IOW I would not worry about power in an office amp, at least unless you intend to repurpose it after the tax codec says you can.
 
#11 ·
This is a home office system. No volume restrictions. Room is 1.5x size of a typical kid bedroom. 9 ft ceilings. I want a quality amp for good clarity, microdynamics and transient response.
That is mostly based on the speakers and your source.

You're stated room gets us no where - you're better off guesstimating the room size.

Either way, Emotiva mini or XPA200 will work. If you have the budget, get the XPA-200 and no problems. Were simply recommending the mini to save a little money while probably getting the same result.
 
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